Longing for Solitude
Whenever singer-songwriter Ray LaMontagne’s song, ‘In My Own Way’ plays on my Spotify I am instantly chilled…
Some of you are saying, “Is this an updated version of Frank Sinatra’s ‘My way?” It is not. And it’s actually quite different. Whereas Ol’ Blue Eyes was singing about getting to the end of his life and being proud that he lived it his way, LaMontagne is talking about turning off the noise, and unleashing the burdens of life. Tomorrow will be here tomorrow.
I’d love at this point to write a couple of the lyrics for you, but because of copyright laws, I cannot! If you don’t know the song (and I’m sure most of you don’t) I encourage you to put it on and have a listen.
LaMontagne is singing about closing the door…drawing the shade…letting plans that were made just go away… And it’s the way he sings it too in his unique voice, in a soft register, day-dreamy. Whenever I listen, I am instantly transported to a meadow, by a rolling brook, maybe a book in hand. Just lying in the grass, watching the clouds roll by. Not a care in the world.
Oh how I long for that more and more these days.
Isn’t life so busy and noisy?
Like I’m sure most of you are, I am on the go all of the time, being pulled this way and that. Job responsibilities. Family. Ministry. So much so that when I do get some time to breathe I take it. But those days by the brook, watching clouds, they don’t come often enough.
Somewhere along the way we have lost the ability – the art – of just being quiet.
I have a secret, that perhaps many of you know - it is incredibly difficult to build relationship with God and discern his will in your life if you can’t hear him…
When we have the frequencies in our life attuned to so many different things, God will not compete.
We have to quiet our world and give him time. Time to speak. Time to listen. Time to just be in his presence with no distractions.
I’m sure there are issues in your life right now that you earnestly need God to hear and act on. My question – are we making the time for him?
I have a theory about why the apostle Paul was able to connect with the heart and mind of God so deeply (in that he was entrusted to write almost a quarter of the New Testament, more than any other writer):
He spent extended periods of time walking or riding, and I’m sure a good bit of time in prayer and solitude.
Paul didn’t have a cell phone demanding his attention 24/7. He didn’t spend hours every night streaming Netflix, or Hulu. He didn’t sit in front of a computer all day long. He didn’t go from one “important” thing to the next.
He stopped. He listened. And so he heard the still small voice of the Lord.
I believe Paul sought solitude.
Solitude in the biblical sense is not vacationing, it’s not even relaxing. It’s being alone with the Lord, seeking his face.
There’s a neat little example of Paul’s mindset buried toward the back of the book of Acts. Paul has been called to Asia Minor (modern day Turkey) to preach the gospel and he and his team made a stop in Troas along the Aegean coast. Then Luke, the writer of Acts tells us:
We went on ahead to the ship and sailed for Assos, where we were going to take Paul aboard. He had made this arrangement because he was going there on foot. (Acts 20:13)
The ship was ready, the missionary team was boarding, but Paul effectively said, “I’ll walk.” It was over 30 miles along the coastline.
When was the last time you walked 30 miles? 10 miles? 1 mile?
Paul walked by himself, where he experienced creation, breathed the fresh air, and made time to commune with God. Paul had important stuff ahead of him, and I believe God used this uncluttered time to prepare him.
Jesus, himself, also showed us many examples of going away for quiet time with his Father. Such as:
The apostles returned to Jesus and told him all that they had done and taught. And he said to them, “Come away by yourselves to a desolate place and rest a while.” For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat. And they went away in the boat to a desolate place by themselves. (Mark 6:30-32)
One of the greatest examples of Jesus going away in solitude was prior to selecting his closest companions for the duration of his ministry. We are told that after he had multiplied the loaves and the fishes, he went up into the hills to pray, and that “all night he continued in prayer to God.” (Luke 6:12)
When I was sixteen I went away with a group of my friends to a Young Life camp in North Carolina. It was a wonderful week spent outside, riding horses, swimming. And in the evenings after dinner we had a speaker. The last night before we went home, our speaker was Swen Nater, an NBA player. I don’t recall what was said, but I recall the theme and the message as if it was yesterday. He talked to us about a personal relationship with Jesus. I had been going to a youth group for a couple of years at this point, with a dynamic and truth-speaking youth pastor, so I had heard this type of talk before. But for some reason it resonated with me that night. He spoke about how God is a personal god, not up in heaven stroking his long beard looking to punish us. He actually desires to know us and be our friend! At the end of the talk, Swen told us all (there were hundreds of us) to go somewhere by ourselves in the camp, to find a place of quietness, where – if we wanted – we could tell God that we also desired to be in relationship with him.
It was life altering.
To this day, I can tell you the exact spot I went to. It was a small clearing up in the hills behind the main building, and there was a flat rock. It was in that spot, in solitude, that I told Jesus I wanted to know him. Now, it took about ten more years (of me running from that call, in rebellion) for my heart to soften and change, but the seeds were planted in that moment.
What about you?
Are you, like most of us, living in a busy, hustle and bustle world? Do you need it to slow down?
There’s a way.
You can begin by carving out some time along that brook, with the rolling clouds, just you and God. Push all your cares away. Solitude. And begin to hear his voice.